Wood-type golf club head

ABSTRACT

A wood-type golf club head includes a body and a crown plate. The body includes a striking face and a crown. An opening is defined in the crown of the body. The crown further includes an engaging section between a front edge delimiting the opening and a top end of the striking face. The crown plate is bonded to the crown of the body and covers the opening of the body. The crown plate includes a front engaging portion having a thickness greater than a remaining portion of the crown plate. The front engaging portion is bonded with the front engaging section of the body for improving impact-resistance property of the crown plate.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a golf club head. In particular, the present invention relates to a wood-type golf club head.

2. Description of Related Art

U.S. Pat. No. 6,491,592 discloses a multiple material golf club head comprised of a face component and an aft-body. The face component is composed of a single piece of metal and includes a striking plate portion and a return portion extending laterally inward from the perimeter of the striking plate portion. The aft-body has a crown portion and a sole portion. The crown portion includes a crown under portion which is mounted under the return portion to enhance the flexibility of the striking plate portion, providing a greater coefficient of restitution (COR). The crown portion further includes a thicker section following the crown under portion and a thinner remaining portion having a thickness the same as that of the crown under portion. The crown portion and the sole portion are engaged with the return portion and made from materials different from that of the return portion.

Multiple material wood-type golf club heads are popular among golf players. However, the impact-resistance property of the crown portion of the above-mentioned wood-type club head is not improved. The present invention is intended to provide a solution in this regard.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a wood-type golf club head with improved impact-resistance property.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a wood-type golf club head comprises a body and a crown plate. The body includes a striking face and a crown. An opening is defined in the crown of the body. The crown further includes an engaging section between a front edge delimiting the opening and a top end of the striking face. The crown plate is bonded to the crown of the body and covers the opening of the body. The crown plate includes a front engaging portion having a thickness greater than a remaining portion of the crown plate. The front engaging portion is bonded with the front engaging section of the body for improving impact-resistance property of the crown plate.

Preferably, the crown plate includes a plurality of layers made of light metals or light non-metal light materials. The layers may be made of materials selected from the group comprising aluminum, magnesium, titanium, aluminum alloy, magnesium alloy, titanium alloy, carbon fibers, and Kevlar fibers.

In an embodiment, the front engaging portion of the crown plate includes a length ranging from 10 mm to 40 mm, the front engaging portion of the crown plate includes a thickness ranging from 0.6 mm to 1 mm, and the remaining portion of the crown plate includes a thickness ranging from 0.4 mm to 0.8 mm.

Preferably, the front engaging portion of the crown plate includes a length greater than that of the engaging section of the body.

In an embodiment of the invention, the front engaging portion of the crown plate includes a front end that is flush with the striking face of the body. The front engaging portion of the crown plate is bonded with an upper face of the engaging section of the body.

In another embodiment of the invention, the engaging section of the body includes a recessed portion communicated with the opening, and the front engaging portion of the crown plate is engaged with the recessed portion. The recessed portion of the engaging section of the body faces outward. The crown portion has a length greater than that of the recessed portion of the engaging section of the body.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of this invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an embodiment of a wood-type golf club head in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded sectional view of the wood-type golf club head in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a crown plate of the wood-type golf club head in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the crown plate in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a modified embodiment of the wood-type golf club head in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is an exploded sectional view of the wood-type golf club head in FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a wood-type golf club head in accordance with the present invention comprises a body 2 and a crown plate 1. As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the crown plate 1 includes a plurality of layers 1 a, 1 b, 1 c, 1 d, 1 e, and 1 f. The crown plate 1 includes a front engaging portion 11 and a rear engaging portion 12. The front engaging portion 11 has a thickness greater than that of the rear engaging portion 12. Further, the rear engaging portion 12 extends downward with respect to a main portion of the crown plate 1.

Still referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B, the layers 1 a, 1 b, 1 c, 1 d, 1 e, and 1 f are made of identical or different light metals or non-metal light materials, such as aluminum, magnesium, titanium, aluminum alloy, magnesium alloy, titanium alloy, impregnated graphite fabric made of carbon fibers, or Kevlar fibers. The Kevlar fibers are poly-p-phenylene terephthalamide sold by Dupont Inc. under the name Kevlar®. These layers 1 a, 1 b, 1 c, 1 d, 1 e, and 1 f are preferably bonded together by epoxy. Alternatively, these layers 1 a, 1 b, 1 c, 1 d, 1 e, and 1 f can be bonded by adhesives of solvent-release type, pressure-sensitive type, heat-sensitive type, or chemically-reactive type.

The layers 1 c and 1 d are of smaller sizes and forms a part of the front engaging portion 11. The length of the front engaging portion 11 ranges from 10 mm to 40 mm and the thickness of the front engaging portion 11 ranges from 0.6 mm to 1 mm. The remaining portion of the crown plate 1 (including the rear engaging portion 12) has a thickness ranges from 0.4 mm to 0.8 mm. By this arrangement, the front engaging portion 11 reinforces the strength of the crown plate 1.

Still referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the body 2 is made of a relatively heavier metal or alloy. The body 2 includes a striking face 21, an opening 22, a front engaging section 23, a rear engaging section 24, and a sole 25. The striking face 21 is formed on a front face of the body 2 for striking a golf ball. The opening 22 is defined in a crown of the body 1 for reducing the weight in the upper portion of the body 1. The front engaging section 23 is formed between a front edge delimiting the opening 22 and a top end of the striking plate 21. The rear engaging section 24 is formed between a rear edge delimiting the opening 22 and a rear end of the sole 25. The curvatures of the front engaging section 23 and the rear engaging section 24 substantially and respectively correspond to those of the front engaging portion 11 and the rear engaging portion 12 of the crown plate 1.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the crown plate 1 is bonded by an adhesive (e.g., epoxy) to the body 2 and covers the opening 22, with the front engaging portion 11 bonding with an upper face of the front engaging section 23 and with the rear engaging portion 12 bonding with a rear face of the rear engaging section 24. The length of the front engaging portion 11 of the crown plate 1 is greater than that of the front engaging section 23 of the body 2. Further, a front end of the front engaging portion 11 is flush with the striking face 21. A rear end of the rear engaging portion 12 is flush with the sole 25. The thickness of the body 1 at the front engaging portion 11 is increased, which significantly improves the impact-resistance property.

The wood-type golf club head thus obtained was subject to a cannon shot test. A high center line C_(H) is defined above a horizontal line center line C of the striking face 21. The wood-type golf club head is shot at the high center line C_(H) with golf balls at a velocity of 56 m/sec. The front engaging portion 11 has a thickness of 0.85 mm (which leads to an increase of 0.5 g in the weight of the crown plate 1) while the thickness of the remaining portion of the crown plate 1 is 0.6 mm. The result of the cannon shot test showed that the front engaging portion 11 of the crown plate 1 in accordance with the present invention did not crack after being shot for more than 1600 times.

A similar cannon shot test was carried out on a conventional wood-type golf club head with a crown plate (or crown portion) made of carbon fibers and having a uniform thickness of 0.6 mm. The result of the cannon shot test showed that the front engaging portion of the crown plate cracked after being shot for 500 times.

By means of increasing the thickness of the front engaging portion 11 of the crown plate 1 of the present invention, concentration of momentum is avoided, leading to improved impact-resistance property for the crown plate 1.

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the front engaging section 23 includes an outwardly facing recessed portion 26 that communicates with the opening 22. The rear engaging section 24 includes an outwardly facing recessed portion 26 that communicates with the opening 22. The recessed portions 26 have curvatures respectively corresponding to those of the front engaging portion 11 and the rear engaging portion 12 of the crown plate 1. The length of the front engaging portion 11 is longer than the recessed portion 26 of the front engaging section 23. In assembly, the front and rear engaging portions 11 and 12 of the crown plate 1 are respectively bonded to the recessed portions 26 of the front and rear engaging sections 23 and 24 of the body 1. The thickness of the body 1 at the front engaging portion 11 is increased, which significantly improves the impact-resistance property of the crown plate 1.

While the principles of this invention have been disclosed in connection with specific embodiments, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that these descriptions are not intended to limit the scope of the invention, and that any modification and variation without departing the spirit of the invention is intended to be covered by the scope of this invention defined only by the appended claims. 

1. A wood-type golf club head comprising: a body including a striking face and a crown, an opening being defined in the crown of the body, the crown further including an engaging section between a front edge delimiting the opening and a top end of the striking face; and a crown plate bonded to the crown of the body and covering the opening of the body; the crown plate including a front engaging portion having a thickness greater than a remaining portion of the crown plate, the front engaging portion being bonded with the front engaging section of the body for improving impact-resistance property of the crown plate.
 2. The wood-type golf club head as claimed in claim 1 wherein the crown plate includes a plurality of layers made of one of light metals and light non-metal light materials.
 3. The wood-type golf club head as claimed in claim 2 wherein the layers are made of materials selected from the group comprising aluminum, magnesium, titanium, aluminum alloy, magnesium alloy, titanium alloy, carbon fibers, and Kevlar fibers.
 4. The wood-type golf club head as claimed in claim 1 wherein the front engaging portion of the crown plate includes a length ranging from 10 mm to 40 mm.
 5. The wood-type golf club head as claimed in claim 1 wherein the front engaging portion of the crown plate includes a thickness ranging from 0.6 mm to 1 mm.
 6. The wood-type golf club head as claimed in claim 1 wherein the front engaging portion of the crown plate includes a length greater than that of the engaging section of the body.
 7. The wood-type golf club head as claimed in claim 1 wherein the front engaging portion of the crown plate includes a front end that is flush with the striking face of the body.
 8. The wood-type golf club head as claimed in claim 1 wherein the engaging section of the body includes a recessed portion communicated with the opening, and wherein the front engaging portion of the crown plate is engaged with the recessed portion.
 9. The wood-type golf club head as claimed in claim 1 wherein the front engaging portion of the crown plate is bonded with an upper face of the engaging section of the body.
 10. The wood-type golf club head as claimed in claim 5 wherein the remaining portion of the crown plate includes a thickness ranging from 0.4 mm to 0.8 mm.
 11. The wood-type golf club head as claimed in claim 4 wherein the front engaging portion of the crown plate includes a thickness ranging from 0.6 mm to 1 mm.
 12. The wood-type golf club head as claimed in claim 11 wherein the remaining portion of the crown plate includes a thickness ranging from 0.4 mm to 0.8 mm.
 13. The wood-type golf club head as claimed in claim 1 wherein the recessed portion of the engaging section of the body faces outward.
 14. The wood-type golf club head as claimed in claim 13 wherein the front engaging portion of the crown portion has a length greater than that of the recessed portion of the engaging section of the body. 